The Rangers are continuing to pick up the pieces and come to grips with the untimely death of 28-year-old enforcer Derek Boogaard on May 13 because of what the Hennepin County (Minn.) medical examiner's office revealed was a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkiller Oxycodone.

Sean Avery told the Bergen Record he had spoken to Boogaard just before his death about the latter's participation in the voluntary NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program after leaving the Rangers during their playoff run in April.

"I know it was something Derek went away to try. It was something he wanted to address," said Avery, who participated in the program for anger and behavioral issues after being suspended by the NHL in 2008. "Everyone was sort of behind him doing it. I had spoken to him a little bit about it. I had also gone through it, not for the same reason.

"Addiction is a tough thing. I know people who have dealt with it, friends and family. It's a hard thing for friends or doctors to police."

Avery was among roughly 35 members of the Rangers' organization who attended Boogaard's funeral in Regina, Saskatchewan. The team chartered two flights, one from New York and one from the West Coast, where the team conducted its organization meetings in La Quinta, Calif.

"The circumstances are unbearable. But this will make us stronger. Together we will heal," winger Brandon Prust said on his Twitter page.

"You're trying to wrap your head around what the hell happened," said center Brian Boyle, one of Boogaard's closest friends on the Rangers. "I have to come to grips with the fact that a great friend is gone. He's a guy you have to have the utmost respect for as a hockey player. He really put himself on the line for the team. The way we look at it, the way I see it, as a person, as a human being, I was just blessed for the short time I got to know Derek.

"I got to become friends with him and see what a big heart he has. The people who don't know Derek think he might be into pain. That's not true. He was a guy who listens, if you have an issue off the ice or on the ice. We had a good rapport.

"The more I hear about it, the more it becomes real. The boys started talking back and forth, trying to wrap our heads around it. It's not very easy. We're not doing so well. He's going to be missed by all of us. He's a great teammate and friend and wherever he is now, I'm sure he'll be the same."

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
After missing out on postseason play the previous year with a shootout loss in Philadelphia on the final day of the regular season, the Rangers found themselves in the same position to sweat out a return to the playoffs in April. Led by the return and first goal of the season from injury-plagued captain Chris Drury, the Blueshirts took care of their end with a sharp 5-2 matinee win over rival New Jersey in Game 82 to finish the schedule with a 11-4-1 closing run. They then gathered later that night at a Manhattan hotspot to watch Tampa Bay defeat No. 9 Carolina, clinching the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

TURNING POINT
The Rangers' five-game elimination at the hands of the top-seeded Capitals was closer than the numbers indicated. Two of the four losses came in overtime, including a crushing 4-3 loss in double-OT in Game 4 in which the Rangers carried a 3-0 lead into the third period. They had been 29-0-0 this season when entering the final period with a lead, but three Washington goals forced overtime before a miscommunication between goalie Henrik Lundqvist and winger Marian Gaborik led to the series-turning goal. Instead of evening the series 2-2, the Rangers went down three games to one and lost the series three nights later.

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